7th International Conference on Harmonisation between Architecture and Nature
2 - 4 October, 2018
New Forest, UK
Introduction
The objective of this Conference is to review the challenges and new opportunities of contemporary architecture. These are a result of advances in design and new building technologies, as well as the development of new materials.
Many of the changes are motivated by a drive towards eco-architecture, trying to harmonise architectural products with nature. Another important issue is the adaptation of the architectural design to the natural environment, learning from nature and traditional construction techniques.
Contemporary architecture is at the threshold of a new stage of evolution, deeply influenced by the advances in information and computer systems and the development of new materials and products, as well as construction processes that will drastically change the industry.
Emphasis is placed on the minimum use of energy at each stage of the building process, the design by passive systems, life cycle assessment, resources optimisation and rehabilitation.
Never before in history have architects and engineers had such a range of new processes and products open to them. In spite of that, the construction industry lags behind all others in taking advantage of a wide variety of new technologies. This is understandable, due to the inherent complexity and uniqueness of each architectural project. Advances in computer and information systems, including robotics, offers the possibility of developing new architectural forms, construction products and building technologies which are just now starting to emerge.
Changes have also taken place in the way modern society works and lives, due to the impact of modern technologies. Patterns of work have been disrupted and changed, affecting transportation and the home environment. The demand is for a new type of habitat that can respond to the changes and the consequent requirements in terms of urban environment.
The conference will deal with topics such as building technologies, design by passive systems, design with nature, cultural sensitivity, life cycle assessment, resources and rehabilitation and many others including case studies from many different places around the world. The list of topics gives an idea of the scope of the meeting, papers on other topics relating to the conference objectives, are welcome.
All conference papers are archived online in the WIT eLibrary (www.witpress.com/elibrary) where they are easily and permanently available in Open Access format to the international community.
Architecture is very multi-disciplinary, attracting many other professions. In this regard the conference participants are expected to be engineers, planners, computer experts, physical scientists, sociologists and economists, as well as architects, providing all of them an opportunity to share information and ideas with their colleagues from different regions of the world.
The seventh International Conference follows the six successful meetings which started in the New Forest, home of the Wessex Institute of Technology, in 2006; and followed in the Algarve (2008); A Coruna (2010), the island of Kos (2012), Siena (2014) and Alicante (2016).
Conference Topics
The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Eco-Architecture 2018. Papers on other topics related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.
- Energy efficiency
- New building technologies
- Computer aided design
- Robotics and artificial intelligence
- City agriculture
- Urban landscaping and green spaces
- Transportation and habitat
- Community participation
- Design and construction integration
- Flexible housing
- Floating buildings
- Smart houses
- New materials and products
- Contemporary habitat typologies
- Houses as a working environment
- Management and maintenance
- Design with nature
- Tall buildings and urban design
- Building technologies
- Tall buildings and environment
- Ecological impacts of materials
- Bioclimatic design
- Water quality
- Green facades
- Ecological and cultural sensitivity
- Design by passive systems
- Adapted reuse
- Life cycle assessment and durability
- Transformative design
- Sustainability indices in architecture
- Recycle, reuse, reduce and recovery
- Building flexibility
- Architectural visualisation
- New techniques: building information modelling
- Education and training
- Case studies
Find out more on the conference webpage.